New Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is losing two direct reports according to several sources near the top of the organization. Executive Vice President of Business Development and Evangelism, Tony Bates and Executive Vice President of Marketing, Tami Reller are leaving the company.

What is not known is where either executive will land. Tony Bates was former CEO at Skype, and was apparently on the short list to take the reigns at Microsoft after Steve Ballmer’s retirement. His departure is apparently not a surprise to those inside the circle at Microsoft.

Tami Reller’s departure is also something that folks in Redmond saw as inevitable. She is one of the most senior women to work at Microsoft, having joined the company in 2001 following its acquisition of Great Plains software where she had been since 1984. However, it looks like she is taking her bow out of the picture since her role overlapped with that of relatively new arrival Mark Penn.

Mr. Penn was hired full-time in 2012, but has been friends with Steve Ballmer for years and had been consulting with Microsoft for some time. If his name rings a bell, it should, we shared some in-depth insight about him back in December of 2012. In the immediate term, Penn remains part of the senior leadership team reporting directly to Satya Nadella with a focus turning to strategy while advertising goes to someone else.

No permanent replacements are known yet, but for the time being, EVP of Advanced Strategy, Eric Rudder will take on the responsibilities of Tony Bates. Chris Capossela will take on advertising from Mark Penn and marketing from Tami Reller.

Lol.. Actually, here I Irving, TX there's a MS corporate office with a Nokia CO right next door.. They've been there way before the two companies were in business together.... Coincidence?.. It's cool because the work for the first LTE capable WP device, the L900, was done here.. No wonder because this is also att's homeland..
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Nevertheless, I've been to a huge WP event at the MS CO, and it's a really cool place on the inside, like top security... That would be a awesome place to work... Well, on the WP team at least...

This restructuring should've happened years ago..... I really like how Google, and Samsung do things.. They aren't afraid to take risk, therefore you can credit them with a lot of innovation... I hope those Nokia employees bring more of that attitude to MS... MS has just been too cautious the past decade.. I think they have, and should use more resources, on innovative products versus being last to do stuff all of the time... Samsung with its Galaxy gear, Google with Google Glasses, and MS with........ They need something original, not just their take on existing products... But, maybe this is the conversation going on at MS.. Hopefully this restructuring will bring in some more youthful, and daring, thinking, and action..

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